First Look: Wilson Staff’s FG Tour V4 Lineup

New Irons Were Battle-Tested on the PGA Tour

Hot off the heels of advisory staff members Kevin Streelman and Marcel Siem’s recent PGA Tour victories, Wilson Staff is releasing its newest line of for-better-player irons, the Tour V4.

Designed around the 3- through 7-irons, the clubs offer an 18-gram tungsten sole weight that lowers the center of gravity and increases launch angle without increasing spin. According to Wilson spokesperson Michael Vrska, this produces a higher peak height on long and mid-iron shots, and thus a steeper angle of descent for holding greens and attacking tough pins.

“It was important for the new FG Tour V4 irons to maintain certain visual cues and specifications that our tour staff expects, which, based on their immediate positive feedback, we succeeded in,” said Vrska.

The new V4 iron offers forged 8620 carbon steel finished in mirror nickel chrome, with an upper-portion face that is 11-percent thinner than its FG Tour 100 and M3 predecessors. According to Vrska, this combination repositions mass where it can help “feel” players optimize launch, spin and moment of inertia.

Also, Wilson moved weight lower and toward the heel and toe to improve forgiveness, but the mass remains concentrated in the impact area to maintain a solid, muscle back blade-like feel and to provide workability on center and close-to-center impacts.

Additionally, the equipment company will release a new utility iron that is designed to replace better-players’ long irons and hybrids.

“The FG Tour V4 utility addresses the needs of our tour staff in tougher wind and turf conditions,” said spokesperson Jon Pergande. “It’s an extension of the FG Tour line, helping to hit long shots into greens and to control ball flight in the wind.”

The utility iron’s extremely thin, responsive face is made from Carpenter Custom 455 maraging stainless steel, which helps to create improved ball speeds and distance. The material also freed up weight so that mass could be moved low and to the toe for an optimized center of gravity.

The utility irons offer similar cosmetics as the new FG Tour V4 irons, but feature a 7-gram adjustable weight positioned in the center of the sole, helping better players fine-tune their ball flight through custom fitting. A 9-gram tungsten weight placed in the toe also eliminates any draw bias in the head.

The Tour V4 irons ($900 for the set) and hybrids ($180 each) are scheduled for release Jan. 15. wilson.com

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Chris Duthie is a contributor to Colorado AvidGolfer, the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it. It publishes eight issues annually and proudly delivers daily content via www.coloradoavidgolfer.com.

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